Broadcast 2174 (Special Edition)

Guest: Rick Boozer. Topics: SLS, NASA, Commercial Space, Space Development Steering Committee. Please direct all comments and questions regarding Space Show programs/guest(s) to the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments and questions should be relevant to the specific Space Show program. Written Transcripts of Space Show programs are a violation of our copyright and are not permitted without prior written consent, even if for your own use. We do not permit the commercial use of Space Show programs or any part thereof, nor do we permit editing, YouTube clips, or clips placed on other private channels & websites. Space Show programs can be quoted, but the quote must be cited or referenced using the proper citation format. Contact The Space Show for further information. In addition, please remember that your Amazon purchases can help support The Space Show/OGLF. See www.onegiantleapfoundation.org/amazon.htm. We welcomed back Rick Boozer to continue discussing his premise that congressional mismanagement as adversely impacted NASA and that money going to SLS is money better spent elsewhere. During the first segment of this 1 hour 45 minute program, Mr. Boozer reintroduced his book to us (he was a guest on TSS regarding his book on August 12, 2013), talking to us about adverse congressional management of NASA the why he believe SLS is damaging to NASA. Mr. Boozer is very effective in sating his case, with lots of passion. He references earlier proposals by ULA and SpaceX to build larger heavy lift rockets than the full size SLS for a fraction of the SLS cost but those proposals were dismissed, paving the way for SLS. We also talked about private sector efforts in making rockets rather than the government doing it, also COTS and Commercial Crew. At times I countered Rick's perspective with a few of the better known pro-SLS arguments such as SLS is a place holder for key parts of the aerospace workforce. Don't miss what Rick had to say about this idea. In the second segment, Doug called in with SLS questions based on the assumption that SLS does fly. Our guest talked about a heavy lifter not needed for the Moon but most likely needed for human spaceflight to Mars. Another listener asked Rick if he had a Plan B if SLS continued to be funded. Rick said the Plan B is today's status quo. During both segments of this program, our guest mentioned SLS & competing private heavy lift vehicle studies carried out by Dr. Alan Wilhite of Georgia Tech. Rick provided me with several URLs to this information. Check out this information at www.newspacewatch.com/docs/IAC-12.D3.2.3.x15379-NASAStudy.pdf & http://spirit.as.utexas.edu/~fiso/telecon/Wilhite_2-13-13/Wilhite_2-13-…. Also, Rick suggested a debate on the SLS topic. I would be willing to do a Space Show debate with Rick opposing SLS. If you have a suggestion for someone to represent support for SLS, please let know. Toward the end of the program, we asked Rick about his future book plans and he talked about a crowd funding program regarding the preservation of valuable astronomical data. Also, visit Rick's own blog, http://astromaven.blogspot.com. Please post your comments/questions on TSS blog above. Contact Rick through his blog or through me. If you buy his book and I strongly suggest you do so, please go through the OGLF/The Space Show Amazon portal as described at www.thespaceshow.com, www.onegiantleapfoundation.org and all archive summaries on the website and blog, Amazon will donate a percentage of your purchase to The Space Show.